HiRa Cafe & Patisserie

This place is so lovely. We ended up here a bit by mistake, and what luck! The food is incredible. I've had Ethiopian food only once or twice, so I'm not an expert, but this was by far the best. Much of it is unfamiliar to me, so it was nice that they offered some guidance and suggestions on what to order and how to best enjoy the meal, what goes on what, etc. Good food is already enough, but they make an excellent cappuccino as well. I was delighted to find it lightly spiced, just perfect. The pastries looked great, and they even have my favorite, tiramisu, but the portions were so generous, I didn't think to stop in time to save room for dessert.I got the breakfast combo, and it was easily enough for two large meals, I just scrambled another couple eggs the day after. All of it, even the injera bread reheats extremely well. Super good value!The staff is warm and friendly, and checked up on us just enough to ensure we had everything we needed. I don't normally leave reviews, but they absolutely deserve it. We'll definitely be back. Good job HiRa!

Partner and I were looking for a breakfast spot in the area after going somewhere that had a 45 min wait...we were happy that we found this little Ethiopian cafe! We've had dinner at an Ethiopian place before, but never had Ethiopian breakfast. We had the Breakfast Combo, which came with a variety of items, including eggs, injera bread, and more. The flavors were very unique and we ended up eating every single crumb. We also ordered a slice of the orange mousse cake they had, and I really liked the orange flavor - not too sweet or too orange-y. My partner was also very happy with the coffee he ordered. Service was great too! The waitress was so kind. We'll be back!

Wonderful cafe! Come for the coffee and be tempted by the food as I was. My Americano was strong and rich. At the chef's suggestion, I tried the "foul" for breakfast. Mashed fava beans were flavorful and the dark sauce added a big kick of spice. A side of warm bread helped with the heat! It was topped with cooling tomatoes and feta, red onion, and eggs. Such a great combo of tastes.The owner chef and staff were so welcoming and friendly. The place clearly has a loyal following. Check it out before it's fully discovered!

Ethiopian food should get more attention in my opinion. Ever since I've found how great it is, it's always such a treat to discover a new restaurant in my neighborhood. Today, I stumbled upon one. This is more like a coffee/pastry shop where they serve light meals. On top of the cakes and sweets displayed in the showcase upfront, they have a double-sided menu mainly for breakfast and lunch. The restaurant is clean and quite roomy despite its outward appearance. The guy at the ordering counter was very nice to me (he welcomed me with a nice smile!) Although I was only looking for a quick cut of Joe to get rid of my sleepiness, as soon as I saw the menu, I changed my mind. The thought of injera sounded so good to me!I went with No. 6 Kuanta/Firfir because all other items appeared to have eggs in them (I didn't want any eggs.) This dish turned out to be not my cup of tea. But hey, at least I gave it a try (this dish's got a good amount of kick in it so it'll warm your mouth up. Also, the dried meat (whatever the meat is) is cooked a bit too salty to my liking. And the entire dish is mostly injera so if you want more variety in a dish, you should pass this one.)Overall though, this is a nice place. People (workers and customers) seem to be very friendly. I'll come back to try some other items on the menu.

I had the breakfast combo and a latte and it was delicious. I took a slice of chocolate mousse and orange moussse cake home. I didn't love the cakes. My friend got the foul. She wasn't impressed with the foul. The staff was extremely friendly and nice.

Get the breakfast combo and an Americano - incredible!When we walked in, the kind young woman behind the counter directed us to pick a place to sit and was attentive, answering all our questions about the menu (including patiently helping me with my pronunciation and telling me putting honey on my chechebsa would be delicious - it was!). Really enjoyable place for a lovely brunch.

HiRA Cafe and Patisserie is a great cafe that has arrived in Aurora. I happened to come here because we had a bridal shower cake ordered through here. The cafe smells so good and honestly it makes you feel like you could eat the air. This cafe is a hidden gem where you can get treats and a cup of coffee, latte or tea. It's a great place to meet up with a friend and catch up if you wanna try a new little cafe. The cake for the shower cake out perfect! They gave me instruction how to transport and when to display the cake. The cake tasted great and I was impressed with the whole business overall.

Been a while since I've been back but so glad I made it! This place is still a gem and the owner is so nice! An Ethiopian native who classically trained in Paris here in Denver (ok Aurora) but her pastries are terrific! I LOVE the mille feuille - it is to light, flaky, subtly flavored with a smooth velvety cream. Sorry - no pics this time as I scarfed it down but next time, fo sho!

The stripmall behind the Olive Garden at Iliff/Havana (or is that Iliff/Jamaica?) holds a number of intriguing finds. And one of the neatest, HiRa Cafe, is a most suitable place to partake in a bit of Ethiopian breakfast and a pastry or two."So tell me... what makes a breakfast menu in Ethiopia different from one in America?". That's a very good question, and as always, I'm more than happy to help. One dish that always stands out to me is Quanta Firfir, combining strips of dried beef (perhaps a bit firmer than jerky) with shreds of the springy teff-based bread called Injera. In fact, the things-mixed-with-bread concept of Firfir pops up several times on HiRa's breakfast menu, so you could also try the dish with eggs (Enkulal), tomato sauce (Fata, also very popular in neighboring Sudan), or peppery Berbere seasoning with yogurt. (At HiRa, this last type, sometimes also termed Chechebsa, is available either with injera or the wheat-based flatbread Kita). But if you need something less carby, there's always a nice healthy omelette, or the Horn of Africa favorite's bean stew, Ful, to sample instead. Or honestly, you could just go the sweet route with HiRa's tasty pastries (hmm, that kinda rhymes).With the possible (debatable) exception of the the donut-like item usually referred to as Pasti, the majority of sweets popular in Ethiopia have strongly European - particularly Italian - roots. Thus, it's not terribly surprising that HiRa's offerings skew in this direction as well. The Mille-Feuille/Milifoli is indeed very directly related to the layered pastry you may have sometimes seen listed, with a few tweaks, as Napoleon - and a taste of the one here will have you feeling very Continental indeed. The same can easily be said for HiRa's espresso-y version of Tiramisu, or even the titillatingly tangy orange cream pastry waving to you from the dessert case. But hey, you need something to wash all these down (and cap off your meal with), right? And I have the solution to that problem too. Have some Yekemem Shai (spiced tea), a coffee drink like Makiato (yes, that's how it's spelled in Amharic), or Spriss (fruit juices layered by density) and you'll see what I mean.

Amazing food and the be dang chai I've ever had! We had the 1, 4, and 11 and it easily fed 3+ people.